Unfinished Fate
by Delylah
Summary: More than a thousand years ago, Wang So, fourth prince of Goryeo, met Hae Soo and knew immediately she belonged to him - she was his person, they were fated to be together, despite the many obstacles in their way. Unfortunately, the unthinkable happened, and their fate was left unfinished, until now. A "what might happen if So and Soo met in the modern era" story.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** I've had this rattling around in my head for a few weeks now and decided to finally write it down. We know that Hae Soo is actually Go Ha Jin, a girl whose soul somehow transmigrated from the 21st century to the 10th century when she drowned during an eclipse. What might happen at the end - will Hae Soo become Go Ha Jin once more? And if she does, will she ever meet Wang So again? I hope she will, so this is how I thought it might look if she did. This won't be a long story - probably just a few chapters. I don't intend to sketch out their whole happily ever after, just the events leading up to them meeting in modern-day South Korea, and maybe a little past that. Also, I've never taken on a story that was set in Korea before and I'm not fully versed in honorifics and customs so I'm not attempting much of that but please let me know if there is anything just glaringly wrong.

* * *

Wang Seon Ho settled himself in the shade against the trunk of a tree. The warmth of the day was pleasant, but the glare of the sun in his eyes made it more difficult to draw. Pencil in hand, he took a slow look around, observing people and their families as they enjoyed the sun and the water, in search of a subject. Finding none, he flipped back through the tattered pages of the sketchbook.

Most of the sketches were of the same face, and had been ever since he was small, beginning on the day of the accident.

His memories of that day were now vague and blurry. Bright lights, unfamiliar voices speaking unfamiliar words, and strange equipment making jarring noises were all cobbled together with the sensation of pain. It had been the same each time he had awakened, so it had been easier to sleep. Gradually, he began to understand some of what was happening.

He was five years old. He had been in a car accident. His parents had been killed, and his face had been badly lacerated by glass. The social worker was very sorry, but he had no other living relatives to claim him, so he must go and live at an orphanage. Did he, Wang Seon Ho, understand?

He had only looked at the woman blankly and said, "My name is Wang So, Fourth Prince of Goryeo. What is a car?"

Taken aback, the woman began scribbling furiously with her writing utensil in what he later learned was a "notebook," muttering other strange words that would eventually become familiar:

Concussion. Amnesia.

It meant that he didn't remember, and that was true. He remembered nothing of Wang Seon Ho's life: the faces of his parents, his home, even his very name. Instead, Wang So's own memories were fresh in his mind, memories of a prince's life lived more than a thousand years ago. Whomever Wang Seon Ho had been, he was no more, his life snuffed out in the same accident that had claimed the lives of his parents. So Wang So assumed his name and his life; there was nothing else he could do. The few times he had tried to tell the social worker that he wasn't Wang Seon Ho, she had explained his story away as a fabrication, a child's method of dealing with the trauma of the accident and loss of his parents. He had then learned another new word: delusional.

It didn't take long before he became reluctant to speak at all. His accent was apparently strange and his vocabulary was quaint, drawing odd looks from the nurses on the few occasions he did attempt to converse with any of them. Thinking perhaps he could write his thoughts instead, he requested paper, ink and a brush. When the nurse brought him a pencil, he stared at itm confused and fascinated until she demonstrated how to use it. It took a while, but he finally got the hang of it, clumsy though it was. Pleased, he handed the paper over to the nurse that provided the pencil. After glancing at the page briefly, her eyebrows flew up to her hairline, and she excused herself.

An hour later, the social worker returned, with many questions about where he had learned hanja at such a young age and how had he learned the history of Goryeo, had he watched it on something called a television program? Where did he go to school? The questions made his head ache, and finally he shut his mouth and refused to speak again.

Instead, he drew pictures with the pencil and paper: a boat moored at the edge of a lake, the sun rising over the edge of the ocean; the slim form of a girl carrying a large, earthenware jug of water into a garden.

Large, sad eyes in the face of a young woman with bow-shaped lips.

Most of the drawings he hid, instinctively knowing that these would produce still more questions he either couldn't or didn't want to answer. Only once, one of the nurses caught him gazing at the sketch of the girl. She must have thought someone had given it to him rather than drawing it himself, after all, as he had eventually learned, five-year-old hands were more suited to scribbling with crayons than sketching with pencils.

"What a beautiful girl," the nurse said as she refilled the water thermos next to the bed. "Who is she?"

She probably meant, how was the girl related to him? A sister? A cousin?

"Hae Soo," he replied, as if that was explanation enough. For how could a five-year-old child explain that the drawing was the face of his lover, lost to the abyss of time over a thousand years ago?

Impossible.

He was finally released from the hospital a week after he had awakened. The doctor explained to the social worker that while the concussion was deemed no longer dangerous, the amnesia was likely permanent. Also, while the stitches on his face had been removed and the laceration had begun to heal nicely with no sign infection, there would unfortunately be a large and noticeable scar. Plastic surgery wasn't an option at this time as it would be expensive, and he was now a ward of the state. However, perhaps when he was older he could opt to have it corrected then.

While waiting for the social worker to finish her conversation with the doctor, So examined his face in the mirror of the contraption she had called a car.

He didn't really remember what his face had looked like at five years old, but he imagined it must not have been very different from this face now. The scar, however - the scar was familiar. The shape was the exact same, if not as prominent as the scar had been in his old life.

The social worker asked him what was so funny when she got into the car with him. He couldn't explain; he could only laugh harder.

The social worker muttered something about nerves, and started the car. "Ready to go to your new home, Seon Ho-yah?" she asked. He sobered immediately.

No longer was he Wang So, fourth prince of Goryeo, known by all, feared by most, loved by one. Now he was Wang Seon Ho, ordinary citizen of South Korea, and an orphan. He was five years old, alone, powerless and trapped, with no idea how he had come to be in the twenty-first century, and no way home - even if he could stand to go back there and face what he'd lost. Perhaps this opportunity was a blessing rather than a curse, a chance to start over and live a new life in a place where princes no longer existed and scars weren't such a big deal.

When they finally arrived at the orphanage, the social worker helped him pull the one suitcase that had been packed for him from the trunk of the car and led him to the director of the facility, a middle-aged woman who was currently on hands and knees in a small garden, smudged with dirt up to her elbows.

"Shin Mi Yeong ssi?" the social worker asked as she took a few steps forward and halted. "I am Park Sun Gyu. I've brought Wang Seon Ho to live here." At that, she reached back and placed her hand on the little boy's shoulder, guiding him forward.

"Oh, excuse me, I meant to wash up before you arrived." The woman had a sweet-sounding voice that was somehow familiar and caused a shiver of trepidation down So's spine, even as he gave a small bow and tried his best to smile.

 _It can't possibly be…_

The woman straightened and brushed her hands off on her pants as So began speaking.

"Hello, I'm Wang Seon Ho. It's very nice to meet you…" he trailed off as she turned, then finished in a strangled, disbelieving voice, " _eomoni?"_

Because the woman's face was that of his own mother, Queen Yoo.


	2. Chapter 2

The woman-with-Yoo's-face glanced down at him, eyes widened in surprise. For a moment, So experienced an instant of fear as he recalled being five years old, pain searing his face as his mother's knife bit into his skin. When this woman bent towards him and stretched her hand out to his still-healing scar, he couldn't stop himself from taking two steps backward, flinching away from her touch. She snatched her hand back as if burned, then straightened slowly.

"I didn't mean...I just thought…." she struggled with her words, as if flustered by So's rejection. Then she smiled again. "I'm sorry. Welcome, Wang Seon Ho. We are very glad to have you here."

"Thank you, Shin Mi Yeong-ssi," he said, bowing. "Please take care of me."

As So straightened and looked up to meet her eyes again, he thought he saw something in the woman-with-Yoo's-face change. The light in her eyes dimmed and her smile faded slightly. Although her expression remained pleasant, it dawned on So that if he had to put his finger on the difference, he thought she looked disappointed - perhaps even a little sad.

The social worker stayed just long enough to see him settled in his room, which was furnished with two sets of bunkbeds. However, at the time, the room was occupied by only one other child, so he had his choice of the other three beds. So chose the unoccupied top bunk. The woman-with-Yoo's face helped him unpack his belongings put his clothing away in the wardrobe at the foot of his bed.

"It's almost time to start supper. Would you like to help in the kitchen? Eun Jae helps me wash vegetables," she said, indicating one of the other beds, which had obviously been claimed by another child, judging by the stuffed animals cluttering it. "The older children help clean up afterwards. Do you think you could peel carrots?"

So furrowed his brows. Peeling vegetables was the work of servants - but nothing in this world was like the one he remembered. If he was stuck here, he should do his best to fit in.

"O-okay," he said, remembering the quaint word Hae Soo had taught him once upon a time. He'd heard it several times since he had regained consciousness in the hospital, and when he said it now, Shin Mi Yeong smiled.

"Then let's get to work," she said, and left the room, glancing back once, gestured with her hand for him to follow.

So followed Shin Mi Yeong into the kitchen. It was large and spacious, with even more wonderful machines than he had seen at the place called a hospital. Slowly he moved from cabinet to cabinet, exploring. One countertop contained a pair of metal basins, over which curved a metal tube, almost like a swan's neck. On either side of the base was a handle. When he twisted one, water began streaming from the the tube. Delighted, he wiggled his fingers back and for in the water. With a small laugh, the woman-with-Yoo's-face reached over and squirted something into his hands, then rubbed them together beneath the water, causing a soft froth. When he finally tired of playing with the soap bubbles and water, So continued his exploration of the kitchen while Mi Yeong-ssi began pulling cooking utensils out of drawers and cabinets.

"Seon Ho, the vegetables for tonight's supper are in the large bowl in the refrigerator," she said, nodding her head towards the door they had entered. Next to it was a shiny, metal storage box more than twice his height. When he opened one of the doors, a wave of cold air washed over him. So put his hand inside to touch the contents - everything was as cold as if it had been stored in an ice cellar, and frozen like ice, too, but there was no ice inside the box. He opened the door on the other side. These things too were cold, but not frozen. He reached out to touch an apple, one larger and more shiny than he had ever seen.

"You must be hungry," the woman-with-Yoo's-face said from over his shoulder. "Would you like some fruits? Eun Jae hasn't had a snack yet, either." Without waiting, Shin Mi Yeong retrieved the apple So had touched along with a second one. Next she pulled a circle divided into wedges with handles on either side from one of the drawers. In moments she had sliced the apples neatly into eight wedges each and placed them on two small plates, pushing one in front of So. "Go on, eat some while I find Eun Jae and help him wash up."

"Thank you, Eomo-" he began, but halted as he realized what he had been about to say. His heart thumped a little harder in his chest, and he was unable to meet her eyes. However, he was unprepared for her next words.

"It's okay, Seon Ho. Many of the children here call me eomoni. You may, too. In fact, I'd like it very much." Her smile, when he finally glanced up, was warm again.

So nodded, but he was unable to comply with her request. Instead, he said, "So." When she appeared confused, he continued. "My name...it's So. That's what my...my family called me."

"Then I will call you that, too."

She smiled, but So just nodded again, sighing in relief when she finally left to go find the other child. He snagged one of the apple wedges off the plate and crunched it between his teeth. It was sweet and tart, crisp and cold, and possibly one of the best things he'd ever tasted. He managed to devour every last slice on the small plate before before Mi Yeong ssi had reappeared. Eager to see the water again, he carried the plate over to the basin and turned the water on again, marveling as it cascaded over the stoneware. As his fingers were sticky from the apple, he added some soap. Mesmerized, he didn't hear Mi Yeong ssi re-enter until she called his name.

"So-yah, this is Eun Jae."

So glanced up at the two figures in the doorway and received his second shock of the day. The dish he was still holding slipped from his grasp and shattered in the sink.

"So-yah!" the woman-with-Yoo's-face cried as she rushed to his side. "Are you ok? Are you hurt? Did you get cut?"

She took both his hands in hers and flipped them palm up, then back again. Next, she took his face in her hands to examine it, brushing his hair away from his eyes, her thumb drifting over the still-healing scar. So barely noticed. Instead, his eyes remained fixed on the small boy still standing in the doorway.

 _I don't understand how this is happening,_ he thought.

He still remembered that face from when he was young, before he had been sent to live with the Kang's. The last time he had seen it, he had been much older, the light fading from his eyes as he slumped to the ground. So alone had been the only one to hear Eun's very last words as he died, and they had echoed in his head for years afterwards:

 _Thank you, hyungnim._

So closed his eyes and swallowed hard past the lump in his throat. When he felt a tug on his sleeve, he opened them again. The little boy was standing next to him, looking up at him curiously.

"Hyung, do you have any toys?" he asked. So just shook his head - the only things that had been in his suitcase were clothing and few other essentials.

"No. They didn't let me bring any," he said.

The little boy nodded solemnly, then his face broke into a smile. "It's okay. I share."

The lump in his throat grew so painful that So thought he might choke from it, but he did his best to give the little boy a smile. "Thanks," he said.

Eun Jae nodded. Together they helped Shin Mi Yeong wash the vegetables, then she showed him how to scrape the carrots with the vegetable peeler without cutting himself while Eun Jae ate his own apple slices. Supper was a rowdy affair; there were a half-dozen other children living at the orphanage, all of whom were at least several years older than So and Eun Jae. After a few curious looks when Shin Mi Yeong introduced him, they mostly left the two younger children alone. Eun Jae chattered to him throughout the meal, but So was still too overwhelmed to pay much attention other than answering where required.

Later that evening, after So returned to their room from washing up and brushing his teeth and found Eun Jae was already curled up on his own bed asleep. So breathed a sigh of relief - he was simply too exhausted from the day's events to face any more questions. He climbed up to his own bunk, but noticed a lump under the blanket that hadn't been there earlier in the day. Curious, he pulled the covers back.

There waiting on his pillow was a small, furry, stuffed wolf. So clutched it in his hand and glanced back at the boy on the other bunk, but he heard nothing but soft snoring. He climbed under the covers and held the stuffed animal up in front of his face for a moment.

"It seems even here I can't escape you, Wolf," he said to it. "But maybe that's not such a bad thing."

He tucked the stuffed animal under his arm, rolled over and was asleep in moments.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Here it is finally, chapter three. Kind of a talky one, not much going on beyond some bonding and some rehashing of stuff that happened in the series because I kind of wanted to write So's POV on some of it. Sorry for the long delay - I went on a drama break to get over my MLSHR-ending-induced funk. (and Thanksgiving and Christmas and stuff happened, too - I will try and update in a more timely manner). Please do let me know if you spot glaring errors or if I've managed to contradict anything I wrote in earlier chapters. Also, thank you so much to those who have read/favorited/and-or/reviewed to this point - I never imagined the positive response this story would get. If it weren't for you guys, I might have just given up in despair after that ending we got and just deleted this story.

Please note that like MLSHR, I have taken creative liberties with some of the events in this story. I think Wikipedia indicated Gwangjeong died of illness. I decided that didn't work well for the purposes of transporting him a thousand years into the future. I probably have taken/will take further liberties in the future. Feel free to shoot me a message if anything is particularly confusing. Hope you enjoy the chaper :)

* * *

So awakened to the sensation of someone shaking his shoulder.

"Hyung," a voice called, soft and high pitched. A child.

So moaned in irritation, still mostly asleep, and tried to roll away but the shaking didn't stop. Instead it grew more pronounced.

"Hyung! Wake up. Wake up!" the voice insisted.

Disoriented, So turned his head and opened his eyes just a crack, gazing blearily at the perpetrator's face. After a moment, he recognized the boy whose dark eyes peered at him over the rail of the bunk bed. Eun Jae's brow furrowed as he gazed at So in the dim light of the early morning. He was clinging precariously to the ladder of the bunk-bed with one hand while shaking So's shoulder with the other. So reached up and stilled his hand.

"Eun Jae-yah, what's wrong?" he asked, his initial irritation dissolving quickly into concern. "Are you ok?"

Eun Jae nodded slowly, a serious expression on his face. So waited patiently for an explanation. Finally, Eun Jae reached over and touched So's cheek, pulling back a fingertip that glistened with moisture. So reached up to find his own face was streaked with tears.

"Why does Hae Soo make you cry?" Eun Jae asked.

He couldn't remember the dream, but he must have been calling her name in his sleep again. It wasn't the first time he had awakened in such a state, but it hadn't happened for a long time. So turned over and opened his eyes fully.

"Sometimes people cry when they have to say goodbye. Even in dreams," was the only thing he could thing to tell Eun Jae.

Eun Jae frowned, but then nodded, as if So's explanation was acceptable.

"I cried when I had to say goodbye to my grandfather."

And he looked as if he might start crying again at the memory. So gave a little sigh and scooted back toward the wall, patting the side of the bed he had vacated. Without hesitating, Eun Jae climbed up beside him and wriggled his way under the covers.

"It's Saturday. Go back to sleep," So mumbled, allowing his eyes to drift shut again.

After a long moment, Eun Jae's whisper broke the stillness again.

"Hyung, you promised to tell me more of the story next time," he said with a hint of a whine. "Remember?"

"Mmm," So grunted in an attempt to feign sleep.

Eun Jae had long ago found So's sketchbook. Inquisitive by nature, he peppered So with questions about who the people were and why they were dressed funny. So had told him they were characters from a story he'd heard long ago, hoping the boy wouldn't question him further, but he had underestimated Eun Jae's curiosity. The youngster had demanded to know the story at once, and the only way So could think to explain it was as a fairy tale.

"Hyung, it's next time. You promised," Eun Jae cajoled, poking So lightly in the arm.

This time So's sigh was loud and unsubtle. He opened his eyes again and glanced over at Eun Jae, who didn't seem to be the least bit sleepy. Giving in, he began the story the way all fairy tales begin.

"Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl who was born a noble and grew up to serve as her cousin's lady's maid."

"Hae Soo," Eun said with a grin.

So nodded. "Yes, Hae Soo," he said, smiling himself at the memory. "She was beautiful, but she was also stubborn and impulsive and tended to follow her nose into trouble almost every day. One day, while running errands for her mistress, she followed her nose straight into the path of a terrible black prince as he came galloping along the street on his trusty steed, giving no thought to the peasants in his path. The black prince was known as-"

"The Wolf-dog!" Eun Jae piped up, reaching for So's stuffed wolf where it peeked out from under his pillow. He made it "ruff!" at So once then squeezed it to his chest.

"Yes, the people of Goryeo called him the Wolf-dog," So agreed, frowning slightly in memory of the hated moniker.

"But why did they call him the wolf-dog?" Eun Jae asked.

"Because he had slain a pack of wolves with his bare hands, and he barked ferociously at anyone that tried to talk to him," So explained. "Also, because he hid part of his face behind a mask, people thought he must be an ugly monster. They trembled at his name and hid in fear as he rode past, afraid he would gobble them down for his lunch." He mimed snapping like a wolf at Eun Jae, who giggled.

"But not Hae Soo," Eun Jae said finally once he'd stopped laughing. Instead he stroked the stuffed wolf''s soft fur, nuzzling his face into it. "She wasn't afraid of him."

"No, not Hae Soo," So murmured. A wistful smile crossed his face again as he recalled the first time he had seen Hae Soo. At the time, he couldn't fathom why she froze in the middle of the road as he bore down on her, even as the people around her scrambled out of his path. Before she could move, a careless merchant bumped into her in his haste to get out of the way, the bundle on his back nearly knocking her over the stone wall into the river below. Though kindness wasn't in So's nature, something made him reach for her as he passed, and when he gathered her to him, it was as if the world paused in the instant her eyes met his. His breath caught in chest, and his heart throbbed painfully for several beats, as if she had reached into his chest and squeezed it. Stunned, he swiftly pulled her up and tossed her onto the saddle in front of him, where she clung to his shoulders, giving him a good look at her face, which was mere inches from his.

As he studied her, he tried to put his finger on whatever quality she possessed that had affected him so much that the world seemed to have narrowed to include just the two of them. It wasn't her beauty that amazed him. She was pretty enough, with large, dark eyes that were opened wide in surprise. Her nose was pleasantly tilted. Her lips were softly bow-shaped, and they were parted slightly, as if she was just on the verge of saying something but was too startled to allow the words to escape. However, her fair skin was smudged with dirt, and her fine clothing was rumpled, which made her appearance all the more interesting for its comic contradictions.

As she returned his gaze without flinching, he realized it was the utter lack of fear in her expression that had caught at his heart. There was surprise, yes, and he thought he recognized a hint of irritation, too. But whereas the rest of the people on the road had cowered in fear, she alone looked upon him without the terror and disgust he had become accustomed to seeing in people's eyes. His fingers flexed into the small of her back possessively for a split second before he remembered himself, and, feigning indifference, promptly shoved her off the horse as soon as it had halted. Then she had stood and taken him to task for his rudeness, amusing him to no end. The only fear she had shown was of his horse when it reared at her.

But he couldn't very well say all of that to Eun Jae.

"As the Wolf-dog spurred his horse on, a flash of pink caught his eye and he glanced over just in time to see a girl falling away from the road into a ravine. Without a second thought he reached down and scooped her up onto his horse at the last moment." He paused for a moment, trying to remember how he'd told the story the first time Eun Jae had asked him about Hae Soo. "As soon as the prince's eyes met the lady's, his black heart melted and he knew she was destined to be his. But…"

"But the lady didn't like him!" Eun Jae broke in with delight.

"No, the lady didn't like him at all," So agreed with a rueful shake of his head.

"Why not?" Eun Jae asked, bewildered that any lady could detest the prince that had saved her life.

"Eun Jae, that Wolf-dog was not a very nice person, especially to Hae Soo. She continued to follow her nose into trouble, and each time he scolded her fiercely because of it. She didn't realize that most of the time, when he scolded her, it was because she had nearly startled him to death."

Eun Jae's eyes grew big and round underneath his raised eyebrows.

"How?"

So remained quiet for a moment, thinking back to the events that had occurred not long after he had first met Hae Soo. So much time had passed that the memories of those days had become a bit faded and difficult to recall clearly. First Hae Soo, in her desire to keep her transgression at the princes' bath hidden, had caused a servant to drop a tray laden with refreshments for the royal children. Not long after she'd made her escape, she had become embroiled in a scuffle with Prince Eun, much to Wook's dismay and his own amusement.

"The second time the Prince met Hae Soo, she was fighting with Prince…" he paused, slanting his eyes over at Eun for a moment, then continued, "with one of his younger brothers, the tenth prince of Goryeo."

"Why?" Eun Jae asked again.

"You ask a lot of questions," So muttered with an exasperated sigh. He didn't want to tell him that Prince Eun had been peeping at Hae Soo's maid while she was dressing. Instead, he came up with a more innocuous reason.

"The tenth prince was a bit of a rascal who liked to tease Hae Soo. He said her eyes were crossed, her nose was crooked, and that she was a tomboy who should work on being more ladylike. Lady Hae Soo become very angry with him and pummeled him to the ground. Just as Hae Soo raised her hand to strike the tenth prince across the face to teach him some manners, the wolfdog prince stepped up behind her and grabbed her hand to stop her. Hae Soo didn't realize then that for touching the face of a prince of Goryeo she could be put to death."

At this, Eun's brow wrinkled in dismay and he hugged the stuffed wolf closer to his chest. "Hyung, they didn't...kill her...did they?"

So chuckled and ruffled Eun's hair. "Do you really think the wolf-dog prince would let any harm come to his beloved Hae Soo?"

Eun shook his head vehemently, but he still clung to the stuffed wolf.

"No, instead the Wolf-dog prince scolded Hae Soo for behaving so rudely to the prince, which made her even angrier. But she also said something that the Wolf-dog never forgot."

"What did she say?"

"She said that the higher up you are, the more you should care about justice."

Eun Jae looked confused, but So didn't think he could explain how the words had resonated with him, even as he'd teasingly threatened Hae Soo when she had demanded an apology. She had not survived long enough to realize it, but her words had lived on in him and had influenced his reign as king until the day he'd…

 _Died?_

Even now, though he had been in this modern-day Korea for several years, So was unsure exactly what had happened to him to bring him here. He recalled gazing up at an eclipse, one that had mirrored the strange eclipse he had seen the day he rode into Songak. He had been overcome with loneliness - and the urge to escape the palace or even Goryeo itself - and he had commanded his retainers to saddle one if his horses. He then rode the way he had not ridden since he had ascended the throne, whipping the horse to its fastest gallop, as if the hounds of hell themselves were at its heels. He slowed once the horse was nearly exhausted, and then they encountered a pack of wolves, which had clearly been trailing them for some time, waiting for an opportunity. The horse had reared, pawing desperately at the creatures nipping at its flanks and So had been thrown, striking his head on a rock. He remembered nothing else until he had awakened in the hospital in the body of a child.

"So Hae Soo didn't like the Wolf-dog because he scolded her?" Eun Jae prompted him.

"Well...mostly," So hedged. "Once he tried to kiss her, but she pushed him away because he didn't ask permission first." With a rueful grin, he glanced over at Eun Jae and added, "Remember that, Eun Jae. You should never try to kiss a girl unless you ask her permission first."

At this, Eun Jae made a face.

"Eugh! I'm never going to kiss a girl. Yuck!"

"You say that now, but just wait," So said, laughing as he poked Eun Jae in the side, then began to tickle him when he giggled again. When Eun Jae realized he'd couldn't force So to stop, he grabbed a pillow and smashed him in the face.

"Do you want to die?" So said in his best older brother voice.

He snatched up his own pillow and began smacking Eun Jae mercilessly, but not hard enough to really hurt. Soon his sides hurt from laughing and Eun Jae had collapsed back against the bed gasping for breath between giggles when they heard someone clearing their throat in the doorway.

"It's a little early for a pillow fight. You're going to wake the other children," Shin Mi Yeong said, her voice stern, but she couldn't quite hide how her mouth turned up at the corner.

"Sorry Eomoni," said Eun Jae as he climbed down the ladder. "We didn't mean to." When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her waist in a fierce hug. "Good morning!"

Shin Mi Yeong leaned down and kissed the top of his head, then ruffled his hair much as So had earlier.

"Good morning, little prince. Now go wash up for breakfast, you rascal, and then come set the table for me. Scoot!"

When Eun had scampered out the doorway, she glanced up at So, who was gazing at her warily from the top bunk.

"Good morning, eomoni. Sorry, I was telling Eun Jae a story and we got carried away," he said with a sheepish look at the few feather still floating in the air.

"I see. Where did you hear that story?" she asked. "I'm not familiar with it."

So shrugged.

"I don't really remember," he said, glancing down. "My parents, probably. And I've made some up, too."

He couldn't help but wonder why she was asking. In the three years he had lived at the orphanage she had never indicated that she remembered being Queen Yoo, just as Eun Jae did not seem to remember having been a prince. After doing some reading at the library, he could only guess that whatever happened to him was different, that whereas he had somehow traveled through time and been parked in a new body, Eun Jae and Shin Mi Yeong were doppelgangers or perhaps even reincarnations of their former selves.

He often wondered if he would someday encounter Hae Soo the same way - or even if perhaps she might be like him. After considering many things Hae Soo had said and done in this new context, he suspected she may not have been from Goryeo in the first place, but instead from modern-day Korea. He glanced back up at Shin Mi Yeong to find her nodding thoughtfully.

"You should write it down sometime. It's a good story; you don't want to forget it. Maybe you can even tell it to your own children someday."

So nodded in return, still somewhat uncomfortable around the orphanage's mistress, though she had treated him with more kindness in three years than his own mother had shown him during the span of his entire life in Goryeo. He had slept uneasily the first few weeks at the orphanage, feeling helplessly trapped in a child's body sharing a roof with the woman with Queen Yoo's face. He couldn't help but wonder when she, too, would turn on him and exact revenge for the way she had died, deprived of her beloved youngest son. Often he would catch her watching him, her gaze fixed on the scar on his forehead. He supposed she must find it as repulsive as his mother always had.

He had been at the orphanage almost a month when he discovered how wrong he was. Shin Mi Yeong had taken him for a checkup with a pediatrician, who had clucked over the scar, but had repeated the surgeon's opinion that there wasn't much they could do until So was older and his face stopped growing. Unsatisfied, Shin Mi Yeong had whisked So out of the office, scolding the doctor and his nurse as they left. They caught a bus to one of the older sections of the city, and after walking several more blocks past their stop, finally entered a tiny shop wedged between a noodle restaurant and an antique bookstore. A bell over the doorway announced their presence, and as they entered, So's nose was assaulted with the scents of mint, jasmine, and something peppery. He sneezed once then closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, transported in his mind back to the Damiwon and the afternoons he spent watching Hae Soo as she mixed and tested various remedies and makeups.

A stooped old man greeted Shin Mi Yeong warmly, asking after her health and after her charges at the orphanage. She introduced So to him, pushing him forward gently. The old man pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket and leaned down to take a closer look, pushing the hair away from So's forehead to inspect the scar. He prodded lightly at the skin, tracing the lines across So's nose and then under his eye, then nodded slowly and indicated they should take a seat in the small waiting area while he went to work pulling jars from shelves. He would open some and take a sniff, then shake his head and replace them. Others he would smile and nod and add them to a growing collection on his workbench. Finally he began adding small amounts from each jar to a mortar and ground them gently with the pestle, pausing now and then to test the mixture with his nose and fingers. Once he was satisfied, he blended the ingredients together into an ointment and then transferred it to a small glass jar, which he capped and handed to Shin Mi Yeong.

So thought she would just give the jar to him once they had returned home, but instead she twisted the lid off, glided her finger across the mixture and brought it up to his face. He couldn't help but flinch from her touch, the same way he had when he had first arrived at the orphanage.

"I'm sorry, So-yah. I forgot," she said, and this time So could clearly see the hurt in her eyes. She turned to hand the jar back to the doctor so he could apply the ointment instead, but So caught her hand in his.

"It's okay," he said, then he brushed his hair aside and tilted his face up, bracing himself with his eyes closed.

Her fingers were cool but gentle as she grasped his chin in one hand and applied the ointment with the other, smoothing it into his skin. It tingled faintly and smelled pleasantly of frankincense, chamomile, and almond.

"There," she said when she was finished, closing the jar and handing it to him. "You must use it twice a day, after you wash your face each morning and evening," she said. "The scar will never go away completely, but this should help keep the skin soft and make the scar less visible. I'll help you apply it, if you want.

So doubted the concoction would do much good, but it probably couldn't hurt, and who knew? His mother had never bothered to have his original scar treated beyond having it cleaned and bandaged, and it had healed badly.

Instead she had hidden him away, adamant that no one should know about the assault she had committed against her innocent son. When the opportunity presented itself, she had shipped him off to the Kangs of Shinju as she could no longer bear the sight of his disfigurement.

So accepted the jar with a nod and slight bow. Glancing up at her, he said, "Thank you," then added cautiously "...eomoni."

Queen Yoo had always been beautiful, but So had never seen her smile sincerely. Even the smiles she had bestowed upon her favored sons Yo and Jung had seemed false somehow, a facade that hid her true nature. But the smile that graced Shin Mi Yeong's face at that moment lit up her features with pleasure and caused her beauty to shine radiantly, even without the gold and jeweled accessories Queen Yoo had preferred, so much so that So's breath hitched as he wondered what it would have been like to have been the recipient of such a smile from his mother.

Flustered, Shin Mi Yeong glanced away, with pink cheeks and tears glistening in her eyes. She cleared her throat and replied, "Yes, well, your face is precious - we should do all we can to take care of it."

That night So had slept soundly for the first time since he had arrived at the orphanage.

"So?" Shin Mi Yeong called now from the doorway, and So realized he had been silent for several moments as he recalled his first months at the orphanage. Casting his thoughts back to the last thing Shin Mi Yeong had said, he answered, "Yes. That's a good idea; maybe I will write it down someday."

"But homework comes first," she reminded him with a smile. "Make up the beds, please, and then go wash up for breakfast."

That night, after he had finished his homework, he returned to his room to find a brand new journal with lined pages and a pen waiting for him on his pillow. He wrote until his hand hurt, and even then he didn't stop until Shin Mi Yeong appeared at the door.

"Wang Seon Ho! Bedtime was an hour ago!" she chided in a sharp whisper, nodding in the direction of Eun Jae's bed, where he was curled up with a stuffed rabbit, snoring lightly. "Go wash up right now and go to sleep! If I must, I'll hide that journal until tomorrow night."

"No, don't do that! I'm going, I'm going."

Shin Mi Yeong waited in the doorway as So scrambled down the ladder, placed the journal inside one of his drawers and retrieved his pajamas. He paused next to her, which caused her to glance at him with one eyebrow raised, but instead of arguing as she expected, he simply raised himself up on his tiptoes and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you, Eomoni."

"Oh, you. Go on," she said gruffly as she swatted at him, but she smiled all the same.

When he returned from the bathroom, he was surprised to find Eun Jae was sitting up in his bed, with So's sketchbook open in his lap to the newest drawing, completed just that afternoon. At first glance one would think it a sketch of a random soldier, clad in armor, sword raised as if charging into battle. But upon closer inspection, the features were softer, the hairstyle more feminine. Eun Jae's hand had paused in the act of turning the page and his gaze was transfixed on the figure of the soldier.

"Eun Jae?" So asked. "You're supposed to be asleep. Why do you have my book?"

Eun Jae ignored the question and instead asked in a voice that was awed, "Hyung, who is she?"

So started to tell him that the girl was no one special, simply a soldier he had drawn on a whim. But her name had already been lost to time; it was only fitting he honor her by naming her properly. "Her name is Soon Deok. She was the wife of the rascal tenth prince."

"Soon Deok," the boy murmured, his eyes rapt as he lightly touched the girl's sword. "She's pretty."

"Yes," So agreed, not sure how to take Eun Jae's fascination with the image of the girl who had once loved his doppelganger.

After a long moment, Eun Jae closed the book and handed it to So, then scooted himself back under the covers, stuffed rabbit clutched close. He smiled up at So sleepily.

"Goodnight, hyung."

"Goodnight."

For the first time in a long time, So slept restlessly, waking several times before the morning finally chased away the phantoms in his dreams.


End file.
